1,00,000 Government offices to be connected under SWAN

New Delhi, Jun 26 (UNI) More than 1,00,000 Government offices across the country will be connected under the State Wide Area Network (SWAN) scheme approved at a cost of Rs 3,334 crore.

Under the scheme, the Department of Information Technology (DIT) is currently overseeing the establishment of the SWAN network with 2 Mbps connectivity, connecting the state headquarters, district headquarters and over 6,000 blocks across the country.

Once completed, the scheme would provide connectivity to over 1,00,000 government offices across the country.

The major effort is being made as a part of the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) with DIT implementing the most prominent schemes like SWAN, Common Service Centers (CSC) and State Data Centers (SDC), Mr A Raja, Union Minister for Communication&Information Technology said at the meeting of the consultative committee on 'National e-Governance Plan' here today.

He further added that the SWAN Scheme has been approved at a total cost of Rs 3,334 crores and the under the Scheme the DIT is currently overseeing the establishment of a State Wide Area Network with 2 Mbps connectivity, connecting the State Headquarters, District Headquarters and over 6,000 Blocks across the country.

This Scheme once completed would provide connectivity to over 1,00,000 Government offices all across the country.

The DIT is also implementing the Common Service Centre (CSC) Scheme through which 1,00,000 broadband internet enabled kiosks are being established in rural areas of the country. These CSCs are to provide Government and private services at the doorstep of the citizen, which is the vision of the NeGP. More than 8,000 of these kiosks have already been established through a PPP model and it is expected that more than 60,000 CSCs would be established before the end of this financial year, with the balance expected to be in operation in the next fiscal, said the Minister.

He also informed that a Scheme for establishment of State Data Centres (SDC) has also been approved recently as well as a Scheme for Capacity Building of state governments to help them better manage the implementation of e governance projects in the States.

The SWANs, CSCs and the SDCs once established, would provide the infrastructure which would allow for any time anywhere delivery of Government services to citizens.

To facilitate the implementation of the Plan, a body under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister has been constituted to prescribe deliverables and milestones. An advisory body under the chairmanship of MOCIT advises on the implementation of the Plan. Whereas an Apex Committee under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary has also been set up to provide strategic direction to the NeGP. These bodies are serviced by the DIT. The DIT has also set up a professional Programme Management Unit (PMU) to assist in programme monitoring and strategic planning. Under the capacity building guidelines issued by the DIT, a similar institutional framework for the States has been recommended, in fact Apex committees under the Chairmanship of the Chief Secretaries have been set up in almost all States.

The meeting was also attended by MOS for Communication&IT Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia.